After going 0-4 last night and batting .125 in his last 10 games, Yoenis Cespedes refused to answer questions of Met reporters, instead opting to leave it to others.
This is the $110 million dollar face of the New York Mets, of whom he gets his own jewelry day, arm band day, and other promotions that only increase the pr risk for the fading 2017 Mets.
In New York, this generally is met with blaring headlines of "cowardly" and "refuses to accept responsibility..." and so on.
But for a beat writer who must keep his access to the clubhouse, "Cespedes declines to meet with reporters."
Seriously?
Cespedes "declined"?
Cespedes "decines to meet with"? Was this a tea party that he just politely declined?
"Cespedes' silence" in another media post?
New York always demands more of her athletes, including accountability.
There are some who believe the relationship between Cespedes and Mets management has grown even more precarious than it was when he refused oversight of his rehab.
Then, it came out that Cespedes dictates the line up to Collins, which Collins had to submit to the humiliation.
Then Phil Mushnick of the NY Post called out Collins, not Cespedes, for refusing to hold Cespedes responsible for his lack of hustle.
It may be that Cespedes' relationship with his teammates is not as strong as it once was, as 2017 has become the year of the individual for the Mets.
Cespedes' influence has always gone both ways.
His blasts can rejuvenate a team while his prima donna demands have been imitated by Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Astrubel Cabrerra; all of which a big fat "I told you so" was muted within proper restraints: there was simply no need for the reminder.
In 2015 post season, Cespedes misplayed a ball and showed his character by blaming a teammate; a rookie, no less, which broke an unwritten rule in sports.
Michael Conforto is our "part time All Star" and there may be some "influence" by Yoenis Cespedes that has contributed to Conforto's limited play time.
It is rumored that not only does Cespedes dictate when and where he plays, but that he has let management know that he is "happy" when he sees certain players on the field.
Which players?
This may have contributed to the lack of promotion of Amed Rosario.
This may have contributed to limited playing time by our lone All-Star.
This may have contributed to our infielder with the most errors continuing to play no matter what.
Stay tuned.
Cespedes has never had a long-term relationship with an employer before this. We are entering uncharted waters which are likely to get even more choppy as he ages in his huge contract.
The Cespedes drama, known affectionately as "Cespeditis" as it impacts others, continues.
One has reminded us that should he continue to slump, expect him to announce his latest injury that is untraceable by MRI.
16 comments:
Will he implode or explode? We'll know much as this season runs its course. But you raise real food for thought.
We'll talk more about Ces to Peter on Friday.
A NY Times story came out recently when Collins asked Cespedes something and he ignored him. Then when Cabrera and Reyes asked the same thing, Cespedes responded. Do you want to tell me again about how the Skipper is respected by his players?
This is a team in near-total disarray. Having a lame duck manager - seriously, no one in that clubhouse can honestly believe that the ages Collins is going to get a new contract, and thank goodness for that - doesn't help.
Interestingly, Sandy is also in the last year of his deal. I wonder what, if any internal expectations there are around that situation?
Add in the fact that your biggest contract belongs to a well known prima Donna who superiors are clearly afraid to piss off, lest he stop playing altogether. surrounded by eight or nine vets playing for their next contracts - and who all must fully expect at this point to be headed elsewhere even before this nightmare season ends, in a situation where teammates are dropping like flies, and it's no wonder the wheels appear to be coming off.
This situation screams for a re-set starting at the top (unfortunately, it can't go high enough). I wonder if there are any truly exceptional execs around baseball that would agree to come work for the Wilpons? Especially considering they're unlikely to be willing to pay top dollar.
Expect more of this crap.
Adam -
"top dollar" for who?
are you saying that Sandy and TC are underpaid by league standards?
My understanding is that Collins, at least, is (or at leas was) among the lowest paid managers in baseball. No idea what Sandy's getting. As to the "who", I would hope that the next GM - in the event that SA isn't renewed this year, or decides not to come back - would be a quality exec, no?
FYI- Sandy is extremely well paid, one of the few in the org who is.
Collins is one of the least well-paid mgrs in baseball.
I will have a LOT more to say about this on Friday's post, but there are a TON of misconceptions about Cespedes including much of what is being implied in this post.
Cespedes, by the way, is still not healed and is playing that way because he feels he owes it to the team for their faith in him by giving him that contract. He's very misunderstood and everything he does or does not do is magnified times 1,000 by playing in the NY market.
No one wants to take into account that English is his second language and it's not always easy for him to show his passion in public, either.
Collins has basically lost the confidence of the team, the fanbase (long ago) and most people within the org. He's a lame duck but hasn't been fired because a.) the Mets don't like to pay 2 managers at once and was made very clear after Randolph was fired. Also they want to take the offseason to see who is going to be available for that role in 2018 and I have already heard some very interesting names.
Instead of dwelling on a player who will bounce back in 2018 let's focus on what the team can do NOW to deal players on their last months with the org.
Is it football season yet????
My guess Adam is that most 'quality' execs will pass on working for the Wompoms
Mack- you would be surprised how many up and coming GM types would love to get their hands on the Mets system!!! In spite of the asshole Wilponzis!!
I agree with David - this team still has some very good pieces. A young exec could make his mark here.
On a side note, Dodgers are rolling. A key factor is Kelly Jansen, who the past 3 years has thrown 149 innings, walked just 21 (2 this year) and fanned 251, and a BAA of .153. Really?? Really. Now that sort of relief will make ANY manager look good.
David, if yours is the right take on Cespedes, hopefully the legs come back healthier after the break and he then hits like a $28 million guy the rest of the way.
If his legs cause him to shut it down, the silver lining is more time to figure out Nimmo and a better draft slot. Cespedes can win his MVP in 2018.
Thomas- exactly! Barwiss, btw, instituted his weight training program for Yo and we now know that it was an abject failure as instead of getting bigger his legs needed to become more resilient and athletic. The Mets are the ones who sent him there- so the blame for that rests squarely on THEIR shoulders. He's been trying to stay in the lineup and can definitely be hard-headed, but in the way that he doesn't want to come out of the lineup if the pain isn't unbareable. Goes back to the thought that the front office/mgmt is completely out of touch with their players, still, and it's not getting better. Nimmo is as good as Cain on-base-wise if he gets a chance to play regularly. Cain is 32 and his OBP is only in the .360 range, something that Brandon can certainly match if given a chance. Was a response to another post, but you mentioned Nimmo and I completely agree with you!!!
OK. Obviously I'm not in the locker room and so depend on beat writers & to a lesser extent, bloggers to inform me.
But I'm having deja vu: specifically that distinct feeling that I'm hearing Dick Young bad-mouth Tom Seaver--however accurately idk, but it didn't end well.
I am all for giving Nimmo a chance for rest of the way, but I would be more inclined to think that Cain with his speed and better defense will help this team out more than Nimmo would.
I want to replicate our lineup like the 86 team with speed up front
Doubles machine batting 3rd
20-30 HR guy batting 4,5,6
7 and 8 batters that are capable of driving in 60RBI's each. We would be better than 86 in those 2 slots.
Dykstra-Cain/ Dee Gordon
Backman- Rosario
Hernandez-Smith
Carter- Cespedes
Strawberry- Conforto
Knight- Flores/ Devers
Mookie/Foster/Mitchell- Lucroy
Santana- TJ/Cecchini/ Flores/Nimmo/Lagares
If I can get Dee Gordon for 2nd base I could live without Cain and he is a few years younger as well.
Cespedes dictates the lineup to Collins....????
Where has that been written. Wouldn't that be all over twitter and all the newspapers?
Huh?
David
I'm with you on this. Some of this stuff written about Cespedes seems way off base.
Cespedes is filling out the lineup now???
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